The Committee on Home Missions and Church Extension
- Assists the presbyteries of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church to plant new churches throughout the United States and Canada
- Assists presbyteries in supporting regional home missionaries, who identify and develop new church planting sites and help new congregations to find organizing pastors
- Has a special concern for the large metropolitan areas of North America and for the urban centers of many cities
- Conducts training seminars for church planters
- Introduces seminary students to ministry in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church
- Helps established congregations find pastors
- Provides an OPC Loan Fund to help congregations in need of property and buildings
About the Committee
Since its beginning in 1936 the Orthodox Presbyterian Church has had a Committee on Home Missions and Church Extension to assist with the establishment of new churches. The General Assembly elects nine ministers and six ruling elders to carry out this task. To accomplish their work they have been authorized to call and employ a general secretary and an associate general secretary and other staff as the need arises. The Committee meets four times a year (usually at the OPC Administration Office Building in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania) to approve funding for new works, to set budgets, to review policies, and to direct the work of their employed staff.
Meet the Staff
Rev.Ross W. Graham has been the general secretary for the Committee on Home Missions and Church Extension since 1990. A 1969 graduate of Covenant College in Chattanooga, and a 1972 graduate of Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, he served pastorates in Woodburn, Illinois (1970-1972), Vincennes, Indiana (1972-1979), and Charlotte, North Carolina (1979-1984) before moving to New Jersey to become the Regional Home Missionary for the Presbytery of New Jersey of the OPC in 1984. He served as the moderator of the 65th General Assembly in 1998. He and his wife Nicole live in Marlton,New Jersey, and attend Immanuel OPC in Medford. The Grahams have two grown children and three grandchildren.
Rev. Richard R. Gerber has been associate general secretary for the Committee on Home Missions and Church Extension since 1999. A 1968 graduate of Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and a 1971 graduate of Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, he served pastorates in Wildwood, New Jersey from (1971-1979), and Hamden, Connecticut (1979-1999), and was a member of the Committee from 1987-1999. He served as moderator of the 73rd General Assembly in 2006. He and his wife Rita live in Warminster,Pennsylvania, and attend Trinity OPC in Hatboro. The Gerbers have three grown children and three grandchildren.
Mrs. Vickie L. Swann has served on the staff of the Committee as administrative assistant since 2007. Prior to her service with the Committee she worked for Bethany Christian Services, and later served as the office secretary for the Committee on Christian Education and managed portions of the OPC’s website. She is the mother of three and the grandmother of two. She and her husband Jack live in Glenside,Pennsylvania, and attend Trinity OPC in Hatboro.